Massive Offensive Tackle with Nomadic Career Has Predraft Visit

On the final day of predraft visits, the Green Bay Packers hosted UAB offensive tackle Kadeem Telfort.

Author:
Bill Huber
Publish date:
Apr 19, 2023 3:29 PM EDT

In this story:

GREEN BAY, Wis. – On the final day of predraft visits, UAB offensive tackle Kadeem Telfort is meeting with the Green Bay Packers, according to Aaron Wilson.

For the Packers, this visit might be one part character check and one part undrafted recruiting.

At 6-foot-7 1/2 and 322 pounds with 36-inch arms, Telfort is a massive individual. He started all 24 appearances at left tackle for UAB during his final two seasons. He was first-team all-Conference USA in 2022.

According to Pro Football Focus, 94 offensive tackles in this draft class had at least 300 pass-protecting snaps in 2022. Telfort ranked 14th in its pass-blocking efficiency, which measures sacks, hits and pressures allowed per passing play. He allowed one sack and was penalized four times.

However, he’s one of the most unathletic players in the entire draft. His Relative Athletic Score, the 0-to-10 number that combines a prospects height, weight, 40 time and other testing results, was just 1.59. The Packers love blockers with fast 20-yard shuttle times; Telfort’s was a plodding 5.10.

Telfort was a four-star recruit coming out of high school and selected Florida. However, he was among several players suspended for credit card fraud.

“Coming in college, I was a bit immature [and] kind of felt like I was on top of the world,” Telfort told 1819News.com. “I hit rock bottom. I still had some attitude about myself and still felt untouchable.”

So, he did not play in 2017, then spent 2018 at Garden City Community College and 2019 at Highland Community College.

After spending 2019 on Highland’s scout team, he landed at UAB in 2020.

He credited then-Garden City coach Jeff Sims for his growth.

Sims “kept it blood-raw with me and just let me know, ‘You’re not as good as you think you are. You’re not the best. You’re immature.’ Just everything in the book,” Telfort told Steelers Depot. “So, at the time, I kind of felt like he hated me. When he ended up getting another job and leaving, I seen it as a blessing in disguise because, basically, he seen what I had in me that I didn’t know I had in me.”

He took Sims’ lessons to heart by earning his degree from UAB, adding a strong ending to what had been a tumultuous start to his college career.

“It means a lot, because I’m the first to graduate high school in my family, and I’m the first to graduate college,” he told 1819News.com. “I have one older sister, eight little sisters. Just me graduating high school did a lot for my little sisters, and me graduating makes them want to go to college. Now, they have something to look forward to.”